Caged Bird
by St. Iggy the Pyro
Summary: On Kairi's family's cotton plantation, the demand for slaves has never been higher. Slave rebellions have thrown their normal workforce into chaos. But when Kairi's father purchases Sora and his brother Roxas, Kairi's world is thrown into even more chaos.
1. Chapter 1

Ok, for the rabid fans out there, (there must be SOME of you…) going, "OK, Pyro, where the HELL have you been for the last six months and WHAT on God's green earth would convince you that it's alright to start a new story and not update any of the old ones after so long?" I have to apologize (an unimaginable amount of times…). I've gotten of my Fullmetal Alchemist kick and onto (albeit late) the Kingdom Hearts kick. That doesn't mean I wont update my FMA stories…it just means the Kingdom Hearts ones will be coming out a LOT quicker then them.

If you just hopped onto the St. Iggy the Pyro train, thanks for boarding! Hope you have fun! Ignore the earlier message please!

And now onto the real story!

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><p>For even a caged bird will try to pick at the latch with its beak; never losing its dream to once again fly free.<p>

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><p>I hate the markets. They are cruel, vile cesspools filled with people even crueler and viler. It is an extremely unsanitary place, filled with animal and human feces and urine alike. And rats. Rats as big as the cats that attempt to catch them for dinner. You can imagine my displeasure when my father said that we needed to go to them today. He says we need more slaves. We have lost many in the attempted rebellions that have littered the plantations and caused even the most rational of slaves to be led astray.<p>

As I step out of the somewhat cool carriage into the foreign world of the market, I wrinkle my nose and pull my hat brim over my face. The sun beats down on my neck uncomfortably. I pull out the ornate Japanese fan I got as a birthday gift from my mother and flap it wildly in vain, for all it seems to do it make the heat feel even worse. With an irritated sigh I toss the fan back into the carriage and follow my father to the house where they hold the slave auctions.

The Slave House, as I have come to all it, is a large yellow house on the end of the market street. It looks innocent enough from the outside; one could never guess the sinister nature of the things that happened inside. For the Slave House is a place for the broken, where families are separated, freedom is sold away, and dreams and hopes are shattered forever. We walk in, and I survey the slaves up for sale today.

I let out my breath in an angry little huff. I am in great need of a chamber maid, seeing as my last joined a rebellion and was hung, but there are no females before me. All men and boys today, and I couldn't imagine a man cleaning my quarters, going through a lady's things. The maid will have to wait until next time, which could be several months from now seeing as how the market is so far away. This thought is forgotten however as I survey this haul of slaves. Father always tells me it's rude to stare, but I don't think that that rule applies to a slave. Even if it did, however, I wouldn't be able to take my eyes away. There is something fascinating about slaves to me that I can't put my finger on.

They are all shackled together to a wall by their wrists behind a man that shouts too loudly behind a podium. Most look at the ground, their eyes emotionless. Several are staring straight ahead with those same emotionless eyes. Nearly everyone shares the typical features of their Arian culture: fair skin, blond hair, sky blue eyes. Only two in this group of about thirty stand out, a young man with black hair and brown eyes whom I doubt is in fact Arian at all, and a boy with brown hair. I look at the boy. He appears to be my age, with the trademark fair skin of an Arian, but both his hair and his eyes seem to be a few shades too dark. His hand is clutched around the boys next to him whom appears to be his younger brother, whom looks identical excepting the fact that the other has the more typical sandy blond hair and blue eyes of an Arian.

Suddenly the brown haired boy meets my eyes. They are cold and hard, but there is a questioning glance in them. I realized that he's probably wondering why I'm staring at him and I look away quickly, shaking my head slowly in an attempt to gather my thoughts. I look to find my father and stand by him as I wait for the auction to start.

It becomes apparent that father thinks this is a poor batch of slaves. He bids only once, and doesn't continue as he is outbid. I begin to get a little worried, we desperately need slaves for the plantation and can't afford to not buy any of these. I am quickly put at ease, however, as father wins a robust-looking man around his twenties. The man is unshackled from the wall only to be out into sort of collar with a chain lead and handcuffs. He is led over to us and father accepts his lead without a word.

As I see the next slave to be auctioned, my stomach does a small flip. It is the brown-haired boy. I look over to see father contemplating him. As foolish as it may seem, I want father to buy this slave.

"He looks strong," I comment. I try to say it in an offhand way, but it comes out sounding like a compliment. Father looks over at me curiously, then back at the podium.

"A beautiful example of what Aria has to offer us. He looks young, folks, but strong as an ox. Got many years of heavy farm work outta this one. Do I hear a bid of...500 munny?" The auctioneer says this so fast that I almost miss what he is trying to say all together.

My father raises his hand. "500!" He calls in his rough voice.

"500, do I hear a 600 folks?"

"600!" cries a high-pitched voice to my left.

"600, is anyone willing to go to 700 for this fine specimen?"

My father considers this for a second. "700!" he says jovially.

"900!" the same voice to my left calls out.

Father stoops for a second, the calls out, "1,000!"

"We've got 1,000 munny folks. Anyone wanna match? Anyone? Anyone? Once, twice, SOLD to the man in the bowler hat!" The auctioneer calls out.

Father looks smug as this is announced. His look is soon sobered however by a commotion from on the stage. It seems the brown haired boy is refusing to let go of his brother. I bite my lip as I watch them beat the boy until he lets go and then punching the brother for good measure.

"Sora!" the younger blond one calls out in a terrified voice.

"Roxas!" yells the struggling brown-haired boy, whom evidently, is named Sora.

The auctioneer slaps them both as they yell this and has several of his men chain Sora and drag him away. Broken tears run down his face as he is led over to us, one of his eyes already swelling into what shall soon be a very ugly black eye. He looks over at my father and says in a small voice, "Please, sir, buy my brother too."

My heart just about breaks with this nearly I audible comment that apparently my father didn't hear. I bite my lip as I look over at my father. "Say, father..." I start and he looks over questioningly at me. "I have just come to realize that I am in need of a chamber maid since the recent rebellions have taken Maria from me. Do you think we'll be able to buy one?"

"You can have one of them dear," he says, pointing absentmindedly at the slaves in his hand.

"But father, you see, the job of maid better suits a women or a young boy and these two don't fit either requirement," I feign looking curiously at the remaining slaves, "How about...say, that one?" I point innocently at Roxas.

I can sense Sora tense up beside me as I make this suggestion he takes a nearly I audible sharp intake of breath and holds it for a second before exhaling. Father looks from me to Roxas, whom they are beginning to auction off.

"...500 munny?" the auctioneer finishes quickly, looking into the crowd.

There is a dreadful pause of silence before my father says, "500."

"Is anyone willing to go above 500?

"600," somebody calls but not very enthusiastically.

"650," father says. There is a round of silence until the auctioneer says, "650, anyone going about 650? Anyone? Once! Twice! SOLD to once again the man in the bowler!"

Sora shivers slightly beside me and his face brightens into an smile. He catches my eye and slowly mouths the words 'thank you.' I sniff haughtily at this and turn away, my nose in the air. I didn't do this for him, I try to convince myself that I didn't do this for him. But I did, and that's the problem here. I am still contemplating why I did this when Sora reaches out and hugs his brother, pulling him close.

"I thought I lost you," Roxas whimpers.

"Me too," Sora says, running his hands through his brother's hair.

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><p>The ride home must be rough for the slaves, I think for the first time. There are five of them all together, and they are riding in an closed side open roof cart attachment that father attached to the horse carriage ages ago. The wheels on it were poorly made, making the bumpy roads even bumpier and the open roof allows the sun to beat down hard on their unprotected skin. I wonder briefly what has brought this peculiar thought on, but I answer myself. It is Sora, the slave, and his brother Roxas that have brought this thought to me, although how or why, I am unsure.<p>

As we near the plantation, I sigh with relief. As soon as the carriage stops I rush out in the most graceful way I can and I hurry to my room.

The slaves we purchased don't cross my mind again.

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><p>And here we are, the first chapter done of Caged Bird. This idea has been on my mind for a while, and since we recently started studying slaves and the industrial revolution, well, lets just say there's no way I couldn't write it.<p>

Will Kairi ever understand why Sora affects her this way? Will world slavery ever be abandoned for good? Will my cat (who is ironically named Sora..) ever stop walking into walls? All this and more on the next chapter of Caged Bird!

~pyro


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hey fans, haters, and those neutrals out there! Lemme just say, the only reason this is up so fast is because of Spellbound a.k.a Soragirl4ever's Addicted, Angel, and Apologize MERGE fics. Her FREAKING amazing plot/writing inspired me so much and then I was all pumped...like, "DANGIT I'M GOING TO WRITE THIS THING AND IT'S GOING TO BE THE SHIT!"  
>───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────<br>So anyways...read on!

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><p>For even a caged bird will try to pick at the latch with its beak; never losing its dream to once again fly free.<p>

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><p>The slaves didn't cross my mind for the rest of the day.<p>

Ha, I wish.

In fact, they never once left my mind, no matter how many times I yelled at myself that it was improper for a slave owned such as myself to care for her slaves. And it was. Totally improper and inappropriate. I was a failure at plantation work before I even inherited the place. Pathetic. I think, the scariest part of all is the fact that even after all this I couldn't bring myself to care.

His blue eyes kept popping up everywhere I looked; in a book I was reading, or in the wildflowers that grew just outside my window, or in a dress one of the maids happened to be wearing. That one, Sora. His eyes, so vibrant and so very blue, everywhere suddenly. I simply could not process the thought, much less try to make sense and logic out of it. That didn't stop me from trying, no, but I knew it was futile from the beginning. I probably would never understand this.

Frustrated by that thought, I decided to lay down and take a long and much-needed afternoon nap. I lay down in my comfy four poster bed when I realized that the color of the sheets had suddenly changed without my consent. To...blue. The realization hit me and I buried my face in a pillow for a much-needed irritated screech. Then I hopped out of bed in search of my maid to ask her to change the sheets before I lost it completely. Why didn't I just change them myself? Well...let me explain about Leanne, my maid.

Leanne is one of our Arian slaves and she's been around since the beginning of Father's plantation, which happened about twenty years ago, or about five years before I came into creation. Leanne is a a forty some-odd old women with grey-streaked blonde hair and pale skin. She's sort of short...eh, who am I kidding, she's an absolute dwarf. I, at fifteen, am taller then her. She's the most wonderful person in the whole wide world and she's the one I go to for all my issues. After all, she is the only one I can go to.

Why don't I go to my mother? Well, simply, because I killed her. The birth was hard. I lived, she died. Sometimes I wish it was the other way around, especially when Father looks at me with that look, so full of sadness before he can put the mask over it... Anyway..Leanne is totally my mother figure. The strong, wise, amazing person who raised me when Father was too busy with the plantations.

I decided to forgo even looking in her quarters, she has yet to be in there even one single time when I have searched from her before, and go straight outside to where the laundry hangs, drying. Huh. That's funny. She got it done awfully fast today. I shake my head and continue my search. I check the kitchen and prove that she's not doing dishes. I check the nooks and crannies of the house and find that she's not dusting. I check the library. I check the halls. I check every bathroom. Twice. Finally, there is only one place left to go. Her room.

With a huff I head up there to find that the door's open just a crack, which is a feature that had been missing the last time I passed by it. There's a soft light coming through the crack, as if she has lit a candle in there. When I come in close to the door, my feet treading silently, I hear soft voices. I hover for a moment, too far away to hear, feeling both extremely rude and curious; when the curiosity in me wins over. I put my ear right next to the crack.

"...do you have any siblings?" That's Leanne. I'm about to walk in to talk to her about how bad it is to talk to yourself when someone replies to her.

"Just one. Well, now. I had an older one once...you know, on Aria. His name was Vanitus," The voice, young and a little high-pitched, but definitely male, pauses for a moment, "...I don't really know what happened to him. And then there's Sora." My voice catches for a moment in a soft gasp, but luckily he doesn't seem to hear, "He's older then me...but only by a couple of years. Three. What about 'chu?" he finishes.

"None now," Leanne says in sort of a faraway voice, "Unless you count Kairi, I mean, the young mistress. She's like a daughter to me." She pauses for a moment just like the boy did, "But if you ever tell anyone that, I'll lynch you, and I mean that Roxas. And you can't call her Kairi. Especially not around the master. Definitely not to her face though, unless she says you can, alright?" Roxas! So that's who it was. That one...Sora's...younger brother. The one who's here because of me.

"Alright Mrs. Leanne." Roxas says.

"None of this 'Mrs.' stuff. You call me Leanne, hear?" I smile fondly at Leanne's comment. I think back to the exact time she told me that. It was after one of my etiquette lessons. I had been told by my teacher (who told my father that I was a lost cause only a few years later) told me that I must refer to everyone as Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Everyone. I sort of messed it up big time. Father became Mr. Father. Leanne became Mrs. Leanne. No one was happy. Especially not my etiquette teacher, who got chewed out by my father, who claimed that she needed to be teaching me the proper place and time for certain manners and not just the mannerisms themselves. Anyways, I got chewed out by several people and never called her Mrs. Leanne again.

"And Kairi, come in here so I can chew you out and teach Roxas that it's wrong to eavesdrop," My eyes bug out. I slowly open the door and walk in, my eyes at the floor. Roxas' eyes also find the ground as he respectfully bows his head. I slowly walk over to Leanne, feeling like I'm in a death march, sliding my shoes slowly across the hardy wood floors. I'm sure my cheeks are blushing like crazy, my face feels plenty hot enough to turn them into a red to match my hair.

Leanne is sitting on her bed facing Roxas, who is sitting on a small wood stool that looks to be centuries old. Next to him is a small beside table with a few candles on it lighting up the room. There is no other furniture. There are no windows. Just the creaky, slightly dirty wood floor beneath my feet. Suddenly I hear Leanne shift on the bed and I know her bright blue gaze is upon me. I feel it burning a hole in my head.

"Look at me child." Leanne's tone is stern and I know it is futile to resist. I slowly meet her gaze. Her light blue eyes are like pools of ice. "Come closer." she commands. I slowly scuffle forward a few more inches. Her face hardens. "Closer." I sigh slowly and walk toward her a few more feet. She sighs slowly and says, "Kairi, what have I told you about eavesdropping?"

"Uhh...not to do it?" I guess.

She is not satisfied. "Unless...?"

"Unless I think the person is doing something criminal."  
>"Or...?"<br>My cheeks get even hotter. "Or if it's a boy I like." I mutter. Roxas, who had lifted his head to watch our exchange, ducks fervently and finds an interesting colored wood flat to stare at. I swear that his cheeks are bright pink as he averts his gaze.

"Now, do you believe I have done anything against the law, Kairi?"  
>"No."<br>"And do you like this here boy?"  
>"NO!" my cheeks flush even more, if possible.<br>"Then say you're sorry and we'll get on with our lives."

"I'm sorry." I mutter sheepishly. "How'd you catch me though."

"Please, don't flatter yourself. You're as loud as a bumbling hippopotamus." Leanne says with a grin. The hardness disappears from her eyes. This is Leanne, the one who read me stories when I was little and helps me with everything. "Now what did you need, Sugar?"

"Well..." I wanted to talk about everything that had happened this morning, but I couldn't well do that with Roxas sitting just feet away. I quickly rack my brain. "I wanted to see how Roxas' training was coming along." I quickly say.

It's a lie and I know that instantly Leanne knows it. She raises an eyebrow questioningly but doesn't say anything. "Well, as you can see, he's doing fine. Helped me with everything this morning, he did. Wouldn't have gotten anything done half as fast if not for him." Leanne smiles brightly, her smile glittering. I feel a stab of emotion in my stomach. What is it? I realize slowly that it's jelously. I swallow it swiftly and continue on. "Well that's good." I give them both a smile that seems fake, even to me. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you two around." I begin to hurry out.

"Thank you." Roxas speaks for the first time, "K-" he catches himself, "Mistress Kairi." My cheeks flush as I pause slightly before walking out of the room. I walk down the hall toward my room. I didn't do it for him. I assure myself. I didn't do it for him.

No, I didn't do it for Roxas.

I did it for Sora.

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><p>I somehow manage to fall asleep even with the hated bedsheet's color arousing a lot of thoughts. But, sadly, every great nap has to come to an end. I wake up feeling slightly hungry. I force myself to get up and start to walk to the kitchen to get a snack. Of course, when I opened the door, I never expected him to be outside my bedroom door.<p>

Sora. Ocean-eyed, chocolate-haired Sora the slave was in my house.

My eyes widen and my cheeks flush in what I hope he takes for rage. Heck, I hope I take it for rage. I sure don't want to consider the other option. "What are you DOING here?" I hiss venomously.

He puts his hands up in a 'peace' gesture. "Hey, take it easy, Princess! I'm just looking for Roxas."  
>"P-princess?" I splutter, truly enraged now.<br>"Well what am I supposed to call you?" He flashes an irritated look at me. "It's not like you exactly gave me your name."  
>"Kairi." I spit.<br>He mock curtsies. "Well, Ms. Kairi I am absolutely ravished to meet your acquaintance." he spits out sarcastically. I gasp internally. Gone is the boy who cried and thanked me as he held his brother close. It's a strange change and I'm not sure I like it that much. "Now I really must be going. It was a pleasure." He says pleasure as one might say 'skunk' or 'vermin' or 'incredibly deadly reptile'.

"Well FINE." I say, feeling extremely immature, "Roxas is in that room on the left," I make a quick gesture. "Oh. And don't get caught by Father. It'd be such a shame for you to loose your head on your first day." I say this as sweetly as I can.

This seems to sober him up for a moment. He pauses where he stands, without looking at me. "Whatever you say, Princess Kairi," he says eventually, but there isn't any venom in his voice this time.

There is a moment of silence in which I stand there looking at him and he stands waiting for me to reply.

Finally, I break the silence. "How'd you get in anyway.

"Through a window. In that bathroom." He gestures to a window on my right.

"We're on the second floor."

He turns and beams at me. "I know." He then turns and walks toward Leanne's room. "Good day, Princess Kairi."

"Good day...  
>...Sora."<p>

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><p>Yes. Another chapter done. I feel so unaccomplished. Probably because this chapter didn't have a lot of plot development. Hn.<p>

Also, this "quick" update sadly is not going to be repeated any time soon. My iPod Touch, (on which I do all my writing), has been seized away from my loving arms. The only place I will be able to write is at school, which, let's face it, is nearly impossible to do. I promise I will try, but I can't promise I will succeed.

Yes. And for the last chapter, the following people joined what I like to call "Team Favorite" : Heaven's Silver Mirror, Animelover566, Isabelz3Cookies, CherryCola12, and FloraFaveXNara-Wire!

And for "Team Subscribe" : Eppsilon7, Animelover566, Isabelz3Cookies, CherryCola12, DemonAngel47, and Music-girls-wings!

And for the people special and dearest to my heart, "Team Review" : SoraxKairi7, Animelover566, Isabelz3Cookies, and CherryCola12!

Pretty good for my first chapter of my first KH fanfiction. :D  
>Hope you guys don't mind, I'm one of those recognitionreply authors. Thank you all so much. It means a lot.

SoraxKairi7: Well thank you! I'm glad you think so. I think it will be too!

Animelover566: I kept it up; the next chapter has arrived! Thanks for reviewing! :)

Isabelz3Cookies: Maybe...maybe not. I don't even know yet! :D That's why it's so fun... And actually...funny story with the cat there. My parents said we all had to decide together on a name i.e. me and my brothers. I eventually talked them out of horrid names like "Furry" and "Sweet" and suggested "Sora" because it means sky in Japanese. (and I'm a Japanese freak...) They only agreed because of Kingdom Hearts, which is a common ground for us all. Just another way KH has improved my life! Haha. And I'll kept the updates coming! :3

CherryCola12: Glad you enjoyed! Hope you continue to read!

Thanks all! Tell me if I need to improve anything and please, please, PLEASE, tell me if anyone is being OOC without explanation. I can take criticism, so please don't be shy!

Will Kairi and Sora every meet again? Why does Sora keep crossing Kairi's mind? Will Sora the cat stop destroying my headphones this week? All this and more, on the next chapter of Caged Bird!

...and no, Sora the cat has not stopped walking into walls. She still does it. Frequently. I think I should get her checked out or something.

~Pyro


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